Today
by Aijou
Summary: YayaxTsubomi. Yaya's a vastly different person today from who she was yesterday...
1. When You Let Your Heart Win

**TODAY  
**_By: Aijou_

She's a different girl today than yesterday.

Yesterday's girl sang without a fault, showing off an impressive, effortless range. She could sing a C to F# without working hard at it. Do re mi fa so la ti do, she could do them all. Low to high, high to low, her voice performed somersaults. Yesterday's girl painted canvas after canvas with note after note. Colors splashed everywhere, hanging in the air around her. She sang in brilliant shades. Jovial oranges, mellow yellows, blissful blues, and serene greens.

Yesterday's girl had it all. The friends, the support, the confidence high enough to conquer the world, necessary stability and the ability to do nearly anything. The _want_ to do anything, most of all. The push to live, to strive, to simply be alive in her little patch of the planet. Better than all of that, however, she had a best friend. The best friend, the one she deemed better than all the rest.

But, for all the good things she had, she was equally bad. She was brash. She was stupid. Way too head-strong, she came on way too strong without realizing the repercussions. Gentle: she didn't know the word. Idiot, yesterday turned into today and alongside the setting sun, yesterday's girl became someone else... Today's girl.

Today's girl hides from the outside world, going from dorm room to dorm room, sharing beds and avoiding the issue altogether. She tries not to stay in the same place for too long, for fear of the Headmistress finding her. People cover for her. They lie, saying she's sick. On vacation. Out. Not feeling too well...except that's the truest reason of them all.

And when people tell her she's wrong, that what she's doing won't solve anything, she goes further away.

Right now, she stays in Nagisa and Tamao's room. Right now, she wants to disappear and be anywhere but here.

"Yaya-chan..." From under the covers, she hears a soft voice. "You can't stay here forever. You've got to do something eventually." Nagisa hoped that Yaya could hear the concern in her voice. "I...I, um...I think Hikari-chan doesn't hate you. I'm sure she doesn't. Believe me, I know she wants to be your friend as much as you want to be hers."

_I don't want to be her **friend**, that was the whole point of everything..._

"C'mon, Yaya-chan, we know you're awake. It's six in the morning!" A second voice, this one belonging to Tamao, spoke.

Yes, Tamao was right about that. Yaya just didn't show any proof of it, remaining still beneath the blankets.

"Yaya-chan, people care about you," Nagisa chimed in. "Everyone wants you to be happy, okay? Everyone including Hikari...all your friends. No one wants you to be sad."

_Oh? If that Hikari part was true, wouldn't she be the one in here telling me that everything's fine? Stop trying so hard, guys. Leave me alone._

"I think she's asleep..."

"Oh. Um, talk to you later, then. Hope you have a nice nap! We'll be back when classes are over."

"Nagisa, she's asleep. I don't think she can hear you."

There was a nervous laugh, then the door closed shut behind the two best friends. Yaya waited a few moments before leaving Tamao's former bed. Lucky them, they got to share one together._ Lucky, lucky, lucky_, Yaya thought bitterly. While everyone else was having fun with their close friends, she was stuck in solitude. Not like it mattered. This was the unfortunate path she had been fixed on.

She changed into her school uniform, plus a hat to shade her face. Anyone with half a brain would be able to tell it was her, but she didn't care. Yaya left Tamao and Nagisa's place and quick-visited her own forgotten room.

Unfamiliar papers lined the floor, stacked up against ratty textbooks. A pink cat plush lay dead on its side, seemingly gutted by a misplaced shoe. Close by was a cracked CD case featuring two smiling Asian girls whom looked a little too close for comfort. Yaya didn't recognize the old thing - not like it mattered, anyway. The whole room suddenly felt alien to her, despite having lived there up until a week ago. Nothing felt the same.

Her bed was the way she left it. Neat, folded, and tidy. Hikari's, on the other hand, was in a state. As much as she looked like she would, Hikari never really bothered to clean.

"Yaya-sempai! You're alive. What are you doing in here?" The door shut close at the last word.

There was no mistakening the younger girl's voice. "I could ask the same about you, stupid." Yaya's eyes narrowed when she said that. "This is my room. Get out."

"No. It's not your room anymore." Tsubomi put her hands on her hips, smirking slightly. "I thought you were hiding around, idiot. What're you doing here?"

"I'm trying to find something." _Only, I don't know what exactly..._

"Something, or someone...? Hikari-sempai's in class and, unlike you, she's not failing. I mean, aren't you the girl who's fourth 'til last in her class?"

"Shut the fuck up." She wasn't in the mood.

"No need to be a bitch! I was joking."

"Well, your joke sucked." Yaya sighed. "Sorry. I'm not feeling it today." She didn't even feel like throwing in one of the usual petty insults. Today was plain, almost flat speech. "So, why are you in here, Tsubomi-chan? Aren't you supposed to be in school or something?"

Tsubomi scoffed, like the answer was obvious from her opening line. "Dumbass, I was looking for something in here, too. Duh."

"...Something in my room?"

"Yeah. Looks like I found it." Another smirk for no damn reason. "Didn't expect it to be here, though. The saying's totally true. Always look in the places where something would never be."

_Guess she was looking for me, then. How retarded. _"Okay, you got me. What do you want?"

"I want you to stop being such a lame-o!" The pink-haired girl's reply earned a hearty laugh. "What?"

"Who says lame-o?" Yaya sobered up fast, cutting off her laughter in favor of a more neutral tone. "Forget it. I can't change the way I feel over night."

"It's been a week!"

"The best thing for the both of us is me being far away. We need to be able to think without the other person around." Of course, Yaya was referring to her and Hikari. No one knew of the exact details and she wasn't going to change that any time soon. At least, she hadn't told anyone, and she honestly doubted Hikari would speak a word. The whole event was dangerously embarrassing for all parties involved. "Yeah, it's better for our friendship if we give it some time, don't you think?"

"That depends on what happened to end it. What, were you guys fighting over someone? Amane-sempai? Wow, I didn't think you went for girls like that." Tsubomi's tease was met with a death glare.

"I fucking hate that fucking bitch _thing._ That _thing_ doesn't even deserve a name. In fact, I hope she falls off of her horse and dies. I want her to bust her whole head open."

"Whoah! Slow down there." Tsubomi held up her hands in weak defence. "You're being a little harsh there... I'm not a fan of hers, either, but I'm not wishing she were dead."

"You would if you hated her as much as I do. I wish she never even went to Astrea. She should go back to wherever she came from. Fug Palace."

"Fug Palace?"

"Yeah!" Yaya practically shouted.

"Okay... You're nice."

The darker haired girl finally took off her hat. "I know I sounded kinda like a jerk there. I don't care. I just hate that thing so much. You shouldn't blame me, though, since I'm sure you feel the same way about Hikari-chan."

"Not like it's any of my business, but what happened between you two? Why aren't you friends now?" Tsubomi looked scared of the answer.

"I said and did some things I shouldn't've said. I don't wanna talk about it."

"You can tell me."

"No. I haven't even told Nagisa and Tamao, why would I tell you?" _Ouch, _that didn't come out like how she wanted it to. "Um, nevermind. I can tell you as long as you swear not to tell anyone or talk about it with Hikari-chan." It felt weird using the cutesy honorific with her ex-best friend's name.

Tsubomi held out a pinky. "I won't tell a soul, until you say it's okay." Yaya grasped it with her own.

"Okay, well, I kind of told her I like her."

"Oh..." Tsubomi's face had an expression on it that Yaya found impossible to describe. "That sucks...still, you shouldn't be ignoring each other even though she doesn't feel the same way."

"There's more. I **kissed** her."

"You **_what?!_**"

"It wasn't good. She didn't like it. I didn't like it." Yaya shook her head sadly. "It didn't work for either of us. I moved way too fast. I was stupid."

"Hell yeah, you were stupid." Now, Yaya could tell what Tsubomi's face was saying. She was pissed off times infinity to the eleventh power. "Don't do that again!"

"Stop getting mad. She doesn't like me back." Yaya glared. "And she won't like you either. Trust me. She's not interested in anyone but Amane...that is, if she's not straight. Who knows? For all I know, Hikari could be straight. I've never asked her about it. I just assumed. Stupid me, right?"

There was an awkward break in the conversation. Tsubomi clicked her teeth thoughtfully. "Do you still like her, after all of this? It's normal if you do...yet, it's healthier for you if you stop. No one likes seeing you down over some girl who missed out on a chance with you." She brushed some lint off of her sweater. "If Hikari-sempai didn't notice you, then she doesn't deserve you, 'cause you're the bestest person she's ever met, probably. Without you, she wouldn't have much. Think about it."

"You're right. It'd be better if I stopped." She messed with the brim of her hat, taking a seat on her bed. Tsubomi sat next to her soon after. "Too bad I can't. Heh, I sound like one of those stupid soap opera girls, don't I? Always complaining about not winning some guy or losing the guy they liked to some slut. Something like that."

"Not really. You're not complaining." Tsubomi's eyes squinted. "Um...and you _can_ stop. All you have to do is replace Hikari in your mind with someone else."

"That's retarded. Is that what you're doing to get over her?"

"It's working for me."

"No, it's not. Don't lie."

"How would you know if it's working or not?"

"You got all pissy when I told you I kissed her. It wasn't even that big of a deal." Yaya got a creepy grin on her face. "Unless you're jealous that someone wants to kiss her, not you."

"At least she wouldn't pull away from me if I kissed her!"

"As-if! I bet you don't know how to kiss." Yaya laughed, imagining Pinky kissing someone. "Haha, you'll close your eyes and miss like an idiot and it'll be like...what the hell? How did you miss? You were right there! Or, hey, wait, your breath will probably scare your person away. Boo hoo, boo hoo for you, _lame-o_."

Tsubomi crossed her arms. "I wouldn't be stupid enough to kiss someone who didn't want to in the first place, especially someone obviously interested in someone else." She looked at the wall angrily, forcing her eyes off of her sort-of-friend. "And my breath doesn't smell bad. I brush everyday, unlike some people."

"My breath smells good. I don't know what you're talking about." Yaya threw her hat to the floor.

"I didn't name names, but since you've stepped up to the plate, I guess you're one of them."

"Oh, shut up, Tsubomi!" Yaya got off of the bed and stood in front of Tsubomi, whom didn't move from her spot. "Look at me."

"What is--ahhh!" She screamed as Yaya pushed her back onto the bed. The older girl got on top of her, straddling her and weighing her down in place. "What the hell, Yaya-sempai?! Get off of me!" Her heart was pounding fast. "This isn't funny." Her heart was pounding loud, too. She bet it could be heard all the way in Australia. "You're freaking me out, you...dirty pervert." As Yaya's face got closer to hers, she was having more and more trouble forming sentences.

"So? Tell me about my breath, girl. Is it bad like you say?" Yaya blew a puff of air in Tsubomi's young face.

"Yeah, it smells like corn. It's horrible." No matter how much she struggled, Tsubomi couldn't get up from under Yaya. She gave up. "Disgusting..."

"Okay. Your turn."

"For what?"

"Do the same thing to me."

Tsubomi blinked a few times. Eventually, she did as asked. "There."

"I didn't smell anything."

"Because I brush my teeth."

"No, 'cause you didn't blow hard enough."

"Get closer, then, freak." Tsubomi's face got red, her heart speeding up furiously. "Not that close!"

"If I'm not this close, then I can't smell anything." It took a moment for Tsubomi to notice that Yaya's face was as red, if not redder than hers. "Okay, do it. I'm ready for you, dragon breath."

"Sh-shut up." Tsubomi closed her eyes and blew out a slow stream of air...

...and then, her eyes opened wide as she felt Yaya's mouth cover her own. It was a gentle and scary kiss, one that made Tsubomi feel weak and fluttery. If Yaya wasn't on top of her, she might've floated away. Not wanting to be one-upped by her "rival," she wrapped her arms around Yaya, pulling her down closer to her. Yaya more than complied, deepening their kiss until neither one of them had air left to give.

"Um..." Tsubomi couldn't stop smiling. "That was...uh...whoa."

"Uh...yeah..." Yaya was the same way. "Your breath wasn't bad. I guess someone wouldn't turn you down for that."

"Yours doesn't smell bad, either. I was lying before. And, nope, no one could call you bad."

"You, on the other hand...terrible!" Yaya laughed. "That was the worst."

"Maybe you need a second opinion." Tsubomi pulled her closer again, just as the door to the room opened...

...

"...Yaya-chan?"

_**Today, she's someone new.**_

_**And tomorrow, she might be someone even better...**_

* * *

**A/N: **Chapter completed 04/06/08. My birthday. April 6th. Weird, this year I don't care about my birthday as much. It feels like any other day. Almost... I don't even feel another year older. Or, maybe I don't care because my "someone" decided to just be friends ("let's work our way up from there") but still expects me to care for them? Don't know. I'm not going to explain it here because all of that is a story in itself and I'm sick of complaining. My focus is entirely elsewhere nowadays and, uh, yeah... Hope you liked the chapter! :D


	2. Minor Confrontation

**TODAY  
**_By: Aijou_

Chapter Two

Hikari couldn't find the words to say, let alone the words to think.

There she was, her former best friend on top of another girl and not just any random girl, but Tsubomi. Of all the girls in St. Spica, Yaya was...intimate (Hikari chose the word carefully in her mind) with the so-called "annoying Pinker". Yaya's words, not hers. Hikari let the syllables roll out of her mouth as soon as they came. A shakey voice vocalized her reaction in the form of a strangled question.

"Yaya-chan?" The name came out of her like breath blowing dust off of an old mirror. "Uh...um..." And when Yaya hurriedly got off of her partner, the whole situation became that more real. It wasn't a nightmare she could wake out of. It truly was Yaya with the younger girl, after all. "Tsubomi-chan, too..." After that, the short sentence trailed off, leaving Hikari alone, a silent bright red. Yaya and Tsubomi sat up, very aware of how close they were sitting to one another. Still, neither moved from her spot on the bed.

The three girls spent some time frozen, looking at the floor before someone finally took it for herself.

"Hey, Hikari-sempai." Tsubomi asked positively. "How are you?"

"Good, um, and you?" She could only form short, disjointed monosyllables, that's how messed up this all was.

"Amazing," she gloated. "Isn't that right, Yaya-sempai?" Tsubomi patted Yaya's leg. It made Hikari sick. "Don't we all feel wonderful?"

"Y-yeah, sure." Yaya couldn't keep her gaze away from Hikari's face. It was turning colors in a bad way. First, a lovely rose, then a choked blue. Everything was reeling.

"That's great!" Tsubomi's voice was louder than it should've been. Not like she cared. She wanted to make it obvious to Hikari that she wasn't ever going to get her old friend again. _Should've taken the chance when you could have, stupid. _It wasn't like Tsubomi _hated_ Hikari or anything. She didn't. She simply thought that the blonde was stupidly naive - stupidly too late in realizing Yaya's feelings. "Hey, Yaya-sempai, didn't you have to show me something?"

"What?"

"Yeah. You were telling me we were going to go see something. Remember?" She jabbed Yaya in the ribs. "Don't play dumb."

"But, maybe I should--"

"Should what?"

"Should talk to her." Yaya's eyes hadn't left Hikari's face. "Um, Hikari-san, we need to talk." She didn't know what to tag onto the end of Hikari's name. Nothing sounded right.

"No," Hikari replied monotonously. "You should go show her that thing she wants to see." Right on cue, Tsubomi linked arms with her senpai. Yaya pulled away abruptly. "Just go. I don't want to talk to you right now."

There was nothing more to say. She'd done enough damage lately, Yaya decided as she grabbed her hat off of the floor. On their way out, the pair noticed that Hikari, besides her body trembling, hadn't moved from where she'd been standing. The baby-faced female kept staring at the bedsheets, her hands shielding her face from view. Words weren't enough to fix things. By now, they were far past that stage, leading them to a point no one could guess.

* * *

"Hey, why aren't you saying anything?" Tsubomi waved her hand in front of Yaya's face.

They had been wandering in the dorm hallways for a while. Since classes were over, the halls were crowding. Friends were joining friends, girls were making plans, and people were whispering in hushed tones. Yaya could tell they were talking about her, but gave up on the idea of fighting with them. Why bother? She felt more like crawling inside of a hole than doing much of anything else, including walking around with Tsubomi. Tsubomi and her...it was a nice thought, except, reality...

"Maybe it's because you won't shut up." Yaya tugged the brim of her hat downwards. "What was up with you and Hikari?"

"Oh, please, like you didn't want to leave. Besides, she told you she didn't want to talk!"

"Because you were there."

"No, because it would be weird." Tsubomi dropped to a gentler, quiet tone. "Hey, Yaya, want to make all the girls in this hallway go crazy?" She grabbed Yaya's hand.

"No, I'd rather not." She pulled her hand away.

"C'mon, you're that upset over Hikari? You've got to be kidding me." They stopped walking. "You...you suck. I don't get you, Yaya. I really don't."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, first you're messing around with me, then you're acting like you don't care about me. What is it?"

"We're friends, Tsubomi. I don't know why you're the one getting mad. I'm the one who has more reason to." Yaya leaned against a wall, struggling to regain her balance. "Shit, I can't believe she walked in the room. I feel like my heart's gonna explode." She listened to her heart going g_wuhgwuhgwuhgwuh _painfully. Distressed but wearing a flat expression, Tsubomi leaned on the wall opposite of Yaya.

"Do you still like her?" The whole world stood on edge. "You can tell me, go ahead. I won't care."

Yaya took her hat off. She vaguely remembered the day Hikari gave it to her. It had been a birthday present, the single gift she had gotten since she had refused anyone wanting to buy her something. Friendly words adorned the inside, a hidden poem from her best friend. "She's barely a friend. I can't even talk to her." She admitted. If she could without fear of it being stolen, she would've let the hat fall to the floor.

"Answer me."

The taller girl walked over to her junior, a slight saunter in her steps. "What do you think?" She pinned her to the wall, holding Tsubomi's arms up over her head. Tsubomi turned her face away. "Look at me, Tsubomi-chan."

"Yaya-sempai, this is getting a little inappropriate."

"Oh? You could do it before." Yaya smirked. "And weren't you the one who wanted 'all the girls to go crazy'?"

When Tsubomi turned to face Yaya, she could see a few girls standing behind her, watching their indecent display. It wasn't like Tsubomi minded the contact, just as long as it wasn't in plain view. "I didn't mean like this. I meant holding hands. Please, stop." Her eyes widened as Yaya leaned in, her mouth attacking Tsubomi's neck with a few wild kisses. "Yaya-sempai, stop it. I'm being serious." She breathed a sigh of relief when Yaya backed off, but caught that very same breath in her throat less than a second later.

"What is it? I stopped, didn't I?" Yaya followed Tsubomi's panicked gaze, turning around. She was face to face with the Headmistress and a chorus of girls going ''oooooh''. "Oh, shit."

"Nanto-san, Okuwaka-san; my office. Now."

* * *

"Hey, Tamao-chan, Nagisa-chan, wait up!" They did as told, waiting for their friend Takemura Chihaya. Mizushima Noriko, Miator's grand champion archer, caught up shortly after. "Did you guys hear about your friend Yoyo?"

"Yaya, not Yoyo." Noriko corrected.

"Whatever, I was close enough." Chihaya shot back. "So, have you guys heard? Noriko was right there when it happened."

"Yeah, I was." She nodded in confirmation. "I didn't recognize the other girl, though. Some Okuwaka...she was wearing a sweater."

"Okuwaka with a sweater? Tsubomi-chan?" Tamao asked, confused. "What happened?"

"Well, apparently, Yaya was making out with some younger girl or something." Chihaya said. "I mean, sure, there are some girls around here that do that kind of stuff but never in the open or anything. They were so brave, doing that in the hallway."

"What?!" Nagisa couldn't believe it. "Yaya-chan and Tsubomi-chan...together?" She tried picturing it in her mind. Of all the people to pair up with Yaya, Tsubomi was last on the list. They argued way too much over stupid stuff, like who has better looking teeth, who can stack cups faster, and who can laugh the loudest when tickled. Sometimes, they were kind of cute, but most of the time it was just dumb. "I can't see that ever happening."

"Me neither." Tamao's head hurt at the thought.

"The Headmistress caught them, so maybe you won't have to imagine them being together." Noriko said, shaking her head. "Yaya's been skipping classes, hasn't she? She's in my math class, or at least, she was until she stopped showing up. Somebody told me she had the flu...what a lie. She didn't look sick at all."

"She was up puking yesterday," Nagisa lied. "She wouldn't ever skip."

"Hey, tell that to the Headmistress. We're not the ones that could kick her out if we felt like it." Chihaya replied. "I skipped once and she was so mad. I thought she was going to kill me, I swear. Imagine what she'll do to her after catching her kissing someone."

"Trouble, trouble, trouble." The archer spoke everyone's thoughts. "I'm gonna go. I don't want to be late to practice. Talk to you later."

"I'm coming with. See you, Nagisa-chan and Tamao-chan!" With that, the couple left.

"I hope Yaya doesn't get into too much trouble," Nagisa had a worried look on her face.

Wistfully, Tamao said, "at least she has someone with her. Maybe, she'll stop feeling so sad."

"I hope so... I really do."

_**Today, I thought about you...**_

* * *

**A/N: **Chapter finished 4/26/08. My own real life drama made this chapter come a little late. This whole thing with my "someone" made me feel horrible yesterday and, well, yeah. I'm not going to cry about it online, since I did enough of that offline yesterday. Doesn't "love", or whatever this feeling is that hurts just as much, suck? ...I'll stop now, before I sound too pathetic. Hope you liked the chapter.


	3. Drowning

**TODAY  
**_By: Aijou_

**Mature content warning. ***** You have been warned.**

It wasn't like she _never_ took things seriously. No, Yaya could be serious. Deadly so. And thoughtful. She put a whole lot of thought into a lot of things, believe it or not. Sometimes. Whenever she felt like it. Sure, she joked around and, yeah, even now as she was getting stared down by the Headmistress, she couldn't keep a straight face on (_oh, a _straight_ face - like you ever had one_). Hey, laughing beat having a blubbering face, much like her pink haired friend's current expression.

It beat staying up in your room all night, hiding under the covers and wishing, hoping, praying that things had turned out differently. _Differently, huh? What else could have happened? Think about it. Look at you, you still can't get over the fact that she rejected you, you can't stop thinking about it, you can't stop thinking about her, you're desper_

_Shut up._

Why cry when you can just shrug everything off? Yaya never looked like she was trying at anything, not for any particular reason. Right? The way the Headmistress's voice kept interrupting her thoughts was starting to gnaw at her nerves.

Yaya was half an inch away from screaming the words in her head at everyone in the Headmistress's familiar office. Tsubomi. The Headmistress. Anybody listening at the door. All of them - tell them to all go shove it. Yeah, Tsubomi, too. Crying about things got you nowhere.  
_hypocrite_  
Fed up and ready for whatever was to come next, she rose up out of her seat.

"Miss Nanto, sit right back down this instance!"

She did. Like the obedient little girl she was supposed to be, she did. St. Spica had conditioned her well.

The mistress said something about being a proper lady and not condoning such lewd and crude behavior.

Tsubomi sobbed. Sob, sob, sob.

The mistress kept blabbing on. "--your attendance record has been brought to my--"

Cry, cry, cry. Her body shook with every breath she choked in.

Proper ladies, neither seen nor heard. Classy ladies with skirts to the knee, attached to a man's arm. Think about your future.

"--it's worrisome; you were such a good student and now--"

Whimper to another hiccuping cry. It took her all of the restraint she had left in her to keep from holding Tsubomi until she cried it all out. _What are you even crying about? C'mon, you're not the one in trouble here. **I **should be the one crying. Stop, please, just stop. I'm the one who can be expelled here, not you. Stop crying, you idiot! This isn't about you right now._

"--you don't want to fail, do you? Do you?" The Headmistress's words began to swirl into a great mess of blah-blahs. "--you better be listening--"

Yaya nodded her head every now and then, faking interest and making disdain. The lady mentioned things about having a good attitude towards life. Don't shy away from a challenge. Think of this as a challenge in life. Blah, blah. Don't get bored with yourself. Such and such. Yaya rolled her eyes. _A challenge? Oh yeah, that's totally the best way to look at life._ Tsubomi cried some more.

A challenge, yeah, right. _It's not that simple._

"I was sick," Yaya put in as soon as she got a chance to. "Ask Tamao and Nagisa. I wasn't trying to skip, I just was trying to be courteous to the other students by not showing up to class contagious." It sounded like a good enough answer.

"Oh?" The Headmistress tapped her fingers on her desk. Her forehead vein pulsed. She obviously wasn't buying it. "Being sick doesn't dismiss you from completing your studies as soon as you are feeling better. You shouldn't be participating in such...such _vulgar _acts." When she said the word vulgar, she glanced over at Tsubomi, getting her to cry even harder than she already was, if that was even possible. "Seeing as you are better now, you should promptly start attending your classes tomorrow, lest you want to be temporarily suspended from our schools. This is a fine prestigious academy and we uphold education on the highest level and if you're not--"

"Okay, I get it." Yaya cut the woman off before the vein in her forehead exploded. Ew. "I understand what you mean, Headmistress, and I apologize for any of my rudeness and for dragging Tsubomi into my mess. I take full responsibility for any punishments she may receive as a result of this." Everything she said came out almost alien to her. It was tough sounding so well-to-do, and the thought of fancy dinner tables and posh accents filtered into her mind.

("Oh, would you like a spot of tea, midear?" Ruffles. Ruffles everywhere. Expensive rosewood tables as long as her imagination - no - _suffocation_ allowed.  
"Oh, yes, please." Pour the tea into the cup for your man, like you're supposed to. Sit down, smooth your skirt, and that's that.  
Everything, everything so _fake._)

She had no idea how that Miyuki girl did it.

The Headmistress exhaled. "Fine. Consider this your final warning, Nanto-san. If I find you here again, I may find myself with no choice other than to suspend you off of these premises until you decide to become an active member of the student body. As for Okuwaka-san, you're let off with a light warning, as well." She crossed her arms over her chest. "Don't let me catch either one of you again. _That_ kind of behavior is deeply frowned upon, do not forget that. Next time you're in my office, you may find yourself with a much harsher punishment. Both of you are dismissed."

"Thank you, ma'am." She practically ran out of there, dragging Tsubomi out with her and going as fast as her uniform let her. Behind them, a pack of bewildered girls stared as they ran by. And another, and another, until they stopped in front of Tsubomi's door, both gasping for breath.

"Well, that was fun, wasn't it?" Yaya smiled. "I thought for sure that that thing on her head was gonna pop open. Jeez, she needs to get laid, am I right?" No response. She knocked on Tsubomi's head. "Hello?"

"Do you care about what just happened at all?" Tsubomi wiped her face. "Do you care?" Her voice cracked, threatening another breakdown. "I mean, I told you to stop, but you didn't even stop, and then we got in trouble for it. You suck, Yaya-sempai. You really, really suck." No -chan suffix anymore. She was back to being the senior to her junior. The distance in that age gap slapped Yaya in the lungs.

"Hey, wait a minute!"

"No, you wait a minute. You never think about anyone but yourself, do you?"

Yaya's voice squeaked. "What brought this on?"

"You did, you idiot. You never take anything seriously." Tsubomi bit her lip, glaring for a moment. She gave Yaya a second to talk and when it wasn't taken, her tone was more furious than before. "What if you had been kicked out of school? What if _I _had and what if my parents find out about what we did? Huh, Yaya-sempai? Now, the whole school knows about us. Do you know how embarrassing that is?"

Too many questions all at once. Yaya didn't know which one to tackle first. "I...I don't know. Do we have to do this here? We can talk about this in your room."

"I asked you the same thing before you practically assaulted me in the hallway. You - you suck! You're so selfish."

"No, I'm not. Tsubomi-chan, let's talk inside." She opened the door, only to have it shut again. "What?"

"It's not fair," Her voice dropped in volume and anger, settling down to a quiet sadness. "It's not fair that I have to care so much, while _you_ don't care about anything at all. You never look like you - you know, what? Whatever, Yaya-sempai. You can do whatever you want with your life. I don't care, either."

"It's not like that." Yaya tried opening the door again. Once more, Tsubomi put her hand on it, closing it. "I do so care. Just 'cause I'm not freaking out about things or being super hyperactive about stupid stuff doesn't mean I don't care. You shouldn't be telling me how I'm feeling because you don't know."

_Do I even know? - (hide, hide away from everyone)  
_

"You're right, I don't know how you feel." Tsubomi opened the door herself and walked inside. Her roommate was out doing whatever it was that girl was always doing, thankfully. Yaya closed the door behind her, leaning against it in silence. "Look at us. We're fighting already." The pinkette sat on the bed. The blankets were cutesy, like the kind that would belong to a little girl, such a juxtaposition to Tsubomi's usual mature front. "We've only been together for, like, an hour and a half or something and we're already fighting for real."

"We always fight, though. It's our thing." Yaya fidgeted in her spot.

"But not like this. We're not supposed to be fighting like this." She sighed. "I'm sorry for yelling at you."

"It's okay." Not really. When you were yelling exaggerations to get a point across, when was it ever okay? At least, in this instance. It was too random. _But maybe it couldn't have happened at a better time._

Yaya's mind was still trying to breathe after that attack from the physically young girl. Mentally, Tsubomi was a different story. It was like she had changed all of a sudden. _When did you go from being an annoying, snotty brat to being a _real_, live Tsubomi?_ Somehow, this girl was on her level now. Maybe it was that kiss that had did it, the one that proved that being Yaya wasn't as bad as it seemed. "You're cool, Tsubomi-chan..."

"Um, thanks, Random-chan."

"Aww, look, you're blushing!"

"Shut up, no, I'm not. You're such a freak."

"Yes, you are blushing. Look how red your face is." Yaya walked over, arms out stretched to hold the girl down.

"Get away, aghhhh, monster!" She shielded her face along with her laughter.

"You know what monsters like to do to pretty girls, don't you?" Yaya pushed Tsubomi down against the bed. It was easier this time than the second time. "Don't you?" Tsubomi gave no struggle, only nervous giggling as Yaya sat on her waist, a leg on either side of her. There was a term for it, but Tsubomi's thought trains were shutting down. _Oh, wait, yeah,_ _straddle, _that was the word. She liked that word as much as the feeling it gave. "You're trapped, Tsubomi-chan. What're you gonna do, now?" Yaya put her hands on Tsubomi's wrists, pinning them to the bed.

"Die," It made her feel lame that Yaya had this much power over her, but it was exciting, too. Something inside her chest fluttered like crazy to the point that it was almost scary.

Yaya teased her, her mouth hovering over the other girl's lips. In the next second of split agony, her tongue stole inside, spinning Tsubomi's world. The taste was cool, definitely cool and with ease, it took her over, causing her to buck up against Yaya in need. Everything swirled inside of her, reaching for another touch.

She gave it, her breath down her girl's throat leaving her feeling like she was drowning under an intense, oceanic wave. Free from Yaya's hold, her hands reached up, her fingers entangling themselves in her long, dark hair. When their lips separated, she lost all of her composure and that tough façade she was so used to having faded away beneath another warm kiss.

Lips moved together rhythmically, never mind the novice inexperience. Pull away. Tsubomi felt the weight on top of her shifting into a lying position, covering her and eliciting a brief moan as another kiss was taken, this time deeper than the others. Arms wrapped around one another, locking the other in gentle place. Breathing turned harsh, erratic. That fluttery feeling from before spiraled downwards inside of Tsubomi, reddening her face a shade to match Yaya's own.

Yaya ran a hand up and down Tsubomi's side. Her body responded, rubbing into her friend's palm. A short gasp escaped her when Yaya's hand ventured underneath her sweater, below the neat shirt beneath it. Skin to skin, she shuddered as she felt her hand explore across her stomach, then upwards, then back to her stomach. Up, down, up. Torture. Tsubomi wiggled a bit, giving herself room to pull her shirt and sweater up enough just to expose her stomach. The air in her bedroom was cold on her, but she was shivering for a different reason.

The older girl's hand rubbed circles into her abdomen. The circles widened in size, touching the waistband of her skirt and going right beneath her breasts. Her eyes were growing cold, heavy. Yaya lowered herself down onto Tsubomi, her tongue trailing up and down Tsubomi's belly. She trailed kisses all around with strong licks in between. All Tsubomi could do was moan, her breath hollowing from the unexpected pleasure.

Then, there was Yaya again, her mouth pressed over Tsubomi's. She pulled away and this time, both hands were left to wander over Tsubomi's slender form. They stopped to push Tsubomi's shirts further up to get a better view of her bra. Teddy bears. Yaya wanted to laugh, but a stronger part of her didn't want to ruin the moment. Her fingers walked themselves on top of Tsubomi's bra, resting on what was making poor Tsubomi thrust and rub herself against Yaya's hands.

"Please, Yaya..."

But her hands lifted away, taking a different course along little Tsubomi's thighs. A finger against her matching teddybear underwear - she let out a low exclamation. Yaya ran her finger up and down that sensitive area, more than enjoying all of the girly squeals. Her legs kicked out on their own accord, and that only made Yaya quicken her movements, except for when she stopped to remove the cutesy pair of panties. She started to pull them downwards until Tsubomi blocked her hands.

"It's okay," Yaya murmured. "Trust me."

She put her hand inside Tsubomi's underwear - a panicked purr - a finger inside of her - a severe pant, her breath tripped over itself on contact. Slowly, gently, she pulled it out, then thrusted it back inside without warning. Tsubomi screamed out in pain. Going on instinct, Yaya tried again. The cries were supposed to stop eventually, right? And, they kind of did around the sixth try. And --

_Rrrring ring ring riiing_

Tsubomi pushed Yaya off and away from her.

_Rrrring ring riing riing_

She picked up her cellphone, conveniently on her bed stand. It was easy for Yaya to tell how much she was shaking, not only in her movements but in her voice as well. "H...h-hello? Yeah. Oh, hey. I didn't know you had a cellphone. ...Um, sure. I can go." Tsubomi fixed her clothes as she talked. "Mmhm. Okay, see ya." She hung up, her eyes going around the room at everything but Yaya.

"Ready to start again?" Yaya's hands were swatted away. "Hey, is something wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong." Tsubomi's eyes landed on the clock. _Ah, look at the time._ "It's getting late. You should probably go. I don't want you getting in any more trouble." In her eyes, flashed a familiar look that froze Yaya's blood cold. She got it. With one look, she understood the real meaning behind those words. "I'll, um, I'll see you tomorrow. My friends want me to do something with them and then...I'll see you at Choir. You're coming tomorrow, right?"

"I don't wanna know what will happen if I don't go," Yaya smiled weakly. The room was tilting. "Um, okay, guess we'll talk tomorrow at practice." She didn't know of any better way to say goodbye. Goodbyes and Yaya never had much to-do with one another. Always one to hide under covers, she was the type to wait until everything was over than to face it.

_I should probably talk to Hikari. We probably gave her the shock of her life  
(second shock - you were the first)  
this morning._

They exchanged a brief wave and then, Yaya was gone.

_**Tomorrow's too soon...**_

* * *

**A/N:** Chapter finished 01/03/09, a loooong time away from the first and second chapters. Hopefully, there's been an improvement in my writing since then. :P Thank you for all the reviews and all your kind words. Reviews are always nice. :D I'll keep this note short and just wish you a happy day. Later~


End file.
